Batasuna

Basque for Unity.

Originally a coalition of left-wing political groups who were opposed to the Spanish Constitution, Batasuna (originally called Herribatasuna) supports Basque independence and the ideals of socialism.

Recently, Batasuna has been banned by the Spanish government and high courts, who believe it is simply a front for ETA, the Basque seperatist movement. ETA is responsible for hundreds of deaths across Spain within the last two decades, and has been declared a terrorist organization by the US and EU.

Like Sinn Fein and the IRA, the leaders of Batasuna have not been shown to possess direct knowledge or connection with active terrorists in ETA. The evidence cited by the Spanish government during the procedures to ban the party was the fact that Batasuna did not publicly condemn the violence perpetrated by other Basque seperatists, but instead considered violence to be part of the larger problem. For Spain, this was sufficient evidence to silence them.

Since the ban went into effect at the end of August, all Batasuna offices have been closed and many members jailed. The Spanish government has still found no solid evidence linking Batasuna to terrorism. Many observers even fear that by silencing the legitimate mouthpiece of the Basque people there will be no recourse except terrorism. As in the past, the Spanish Government has found it easier to simply silence its critics than to solve its problems.

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